On
the tongue
– An exquisitely refined drink experience. A strong contender for
'most elegant' of all the ultra-hopped contemporary beers.

On
the subject
– The county of Somerset has long been almost exclusively
associated with the production of cider, but thanks to the rapidly
growing reputation of this highly innovative brewery, that's not the
case any Moor. (Poor
gags like that wouldn't be making it to publication if my editor
hadn't quit. And my editor might never have quit if only I'd had the
foresight to hire one in the first place. So, so many regrets...)

On
the market
– I already had my 'new
beer availability rant' here yesterday, but I'm literally having to beat myself with rusty iron
bars in order not to do so again, because today's beer is yet another
modern classic that's pretty damn hard to come by. Contact the
brewery for sales info, or drive yourself halfway
around the world*
to The Real Ale Store
just like I ended up having to do.

(*Roughly
15 miles).

On
the whole
– 9/10

Full
Review

Without
wanting to sound at all disparaging, this is probably the most
'sensible' highly-hopped modern beer I've yet come across.

Let
me quickly expand on that before representatives from Moor
(poorly disguised in brewery branded balaclavas) burst into my house
and begin water-boarding me for hours on end with gallon after gallon
of their very latest products.

(I
wish.)

Let's
be honest, some of the hop-heavy brews pouring with ever increasing
frequency out of breweries these days can have an effect very similar to jumping stark naked into an ice bath. They are quite
deliberately 'things that make you go oooooo!' (Or make you emit other, slightly less repeatable expressions to the
same effect.)

They
can often –again, quite deliberately–cast aside such notions
as subtlety, nuance, balance and sometimes even complexity. In my opinion, one
or two brews go even further by abandoning the very concept of 'taste', in
all forms of that word's definition.

So
it was a real pleasure to crack today's bottle and discover something
that puts each of those elements neatly and firmly back into place,
resulting in a beer of staggering elegance, presence and composure.

Revival,
if anything, is a dignified beer.

It
exudes class and superiority, and does so in a way which is utterly
understated. No braggish swagger is needed here, nor indeed is there
any need for aggressive branding, and this amounts to a lesson in
self-awareness which a few other contemporary breweries would do very
well to learn.

The
flavours are beautifully composed. So crystal clear is it in its
intentions, that it leaves no secrets in the mouth, allowing tropical
fruits, wild grasses, floral themes and underlying pale malt savoury
notes plenty of room to have their individual moment in the spotlight. To have achieved all of this at such a relatively low alcoholic strength is highly commendable in itself.

Freshness
is a big factor here, too. The grapefruit, pear, watermelon and lime all
zing with 'just squeezed' immediacy. As do the gentle bread and
walnut notes at the other end of the scale. (Though why anyone
would waste their time 'squeezing' bread is anyone's guess! - adds
The Editor, having finally been hired.)

All
in all, this pale ale stands as something of a statement among its hop-heavy
contemporaries, reminding them all that no matter what the beer
style, there'll always be room for a genuine touch of class.

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About Me

Here lies an insight into the dark, murky real life of a British actor. Rants on various themes, musings from within the weird world of showbiz, and helpful directions for those in search of the finest beers on Earth.